Bedknobs and Broomsticks

July 14, 2019After the success of Mary Poppins and loss of Walt Disney the Walt Disney company was a in weird spot of how to move forward. Mary Poppins was the first live action film from the studio to get universal acclaim like their animated films. The movie was full of ground breaking effects and had a robust soundtrack created by the Sherman brothers.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is very much a spiritual successor to Mary Poppins. The songwriters are the same, and David Tomlinson returns from Poppins as well. The film also centers around British children but takes place in a darker time compared to the previous film. The movie takes place in the height of World War 2 and children were being places to the English countryside due to bombings in major cities.

Angela Lansbury leads the cast as a woman who reluctantly takes three kids in during the war. Shortly into the movie we learn that Lansbury is a witch in training or “apprentice” witch. This adds to her quirkiness along with the fact that her cat is named “Cosmic Creepers” aside from a normal cat name that people give cats. We see the children learn how this woman lives her life and that she is learning magic to somehow help in the war efforts but it is unclear at the start of the movie.

As the plot progresses we see the group travel from the English countryside to London, to a nearly bombed out home to an animated island. The journey feels large and much bigger in scope than Mary Poppins due to the central set piece being a traveling bed. The songs are similar to the Mary Poppins songs and the tonality of each fits well with the plot. Most of the songs are very upbeat and carry the plot forward in the same manner as the previous movie. Some of the songs don’t quite reach the heights of the previous movie and that could in part be due to the loss Walt.

As seen in the movie Saving Mr. Banks Walt was heavily involved in giving musical suggestions to the Sherman brothers. He gave them little suggestions of how the theme of the movie should progress and the three of them worked very closely together. In the documentary The Boys it is referenced that music for both films was being worked on at the same time. It’s alluded to that the reason Walt focused more on Poppins was because he had promised his daughter that the film would be made and Walt was already towards the end of his life. The Disneyland Park was also beginning to quickly ramp up and just introduced the monorail and the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world in the form of the Matterhorn.

This is not to say the songs or themes in Bedknobs are misplaced but due to the source material it’s not going to reach quite as many people. Nearly every family can relate to the themes in Poppins but Bedknobs is almost purely about the mood and story. There are some takeaways such as not judging people on their first impression. Every character begins the film with a bad first impression to every party. Emelius and Eglantine are both disdainful of working with each other for various reasons and the children are brought into this strange woman’s home against their will. By the end of the movie everyone gets along and ends with a minor love interest between the two adult leads.

Technically speaking the animated sequences utilizing the live-action actors are outstanding. The previous efforts from the studio showed how his technology could be used and this is among the best efforts Disney has ever done. There are two other films that do more convincingly use this technology before the usage of CGI in the form of Pete’s Dragon and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Nonetheless the animated sequences show a variety of technical skills that were new for the time. The soccer match in particular does a great job making the animation and live action blend really well.

The movie culminates after Eglantine gets the spell she has been looking for to bring inanimate objects to life. Nazis arrive in the peaceful English town and the children along with Emelius and Eglantine and a hall of armor are able to fight them away. The sequence is a lot of fun and combines the music of the film and effects into an impressive scene. The scene leans into humor a bit as the Nazis are less like those in traditional World War 2 movies and are more like Hogan’s Heroes nazis and are goofy and pompous.

The film as a whole is a great look into the time it was made and for the most part it holds up really well. There are some sequences that don’t quite hold up and drag the film a little bit. As a film this would easily be a

9/10
In terms of maintaining the Disney brand and furthering it, this is a bit complicated the witchcraft themes along with the movie being reduced in length at release created a project that wasn’t exactly what it was intended to be. On the whole it definitely fits Disney due to the music and sets but is an outlier.

Parks

This movie is not currently represented and never has been represented in the parks. This is despite being one of the last films Roy Disney worked on just prior to his Death and opening of Disney World.

Pops
There are no Funko Pops available for this movie.

Pins
The one thing this movie has in merchandise is pins, however there aren’t very many. There are less than 10 and include one set of the creatures from under the sea and some commemorating the movie.

Overall this film added to the studios progression in the seventies and the next time they would combine animation and live-action it would also fail for very different ways. Bedknobs lost money for the studio but has gone on to be a cult classic. The film has gotten several home video releases over the years including the original cut of the movie. So is this film critical watching for a Disney fan and has it influenced the parks?

Overall this movie would be on the lower end of those that have influenced the company moving forward.

6/10.